


Off The Run

by gloomypalace



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No My Chemical Romance, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Artist Gerard Way, Bottom Gerard Way, Chaptered, Frerard, Friends to Lovers, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MCR, Mikey Way - Freeform, Murder Mystery, My Chemical Romance References, Ray Toro - Freeform, Strangers to Lovers, Tattoos, Threats of Violence, Violence, alternative universe, frank iero - Freeform, gerard way - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23628766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloomypalace/pseuds/gloomypalace
Summary: Trying to solve your own father's murder is hard to do- especially by yourself. Gerard Way would know. So what happens when he meets a man named Frank Iero who stumbled into Gerard's comic shop three minutes before closing time?
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Off The Run

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> I try to update as soon as possible! I will add more tags/change warnings as needed. Some of the tags listed don't apply yet, but they will as the story progresses and as I add more chapters!!

The silvery chime of the welcome bell sliced through the eerie, night time silence, diverting Gerard’s attention away from the comic he clutched in his hands, much to his dismay. Immediately, Gerard’s brow furrowed with confusion. A quick check of the clock confirmed his suspicion: It was 9:57 pm.

Gerard wanted to scream. It was his _biggest_ pet peeve when people came in right before closing. E _specially_ when he had to make small talk with people who were more interested in him than actually _buying anything._ All he wanted to do was go back to his apartment and fall asleep. Or just finish the comic he was reading. Either option would be heaven to him, but now he had to wait for this customer to leave. He was about to let out a pent up huff of exasperation until he caught a glimpse of the person who had entered the shop. 

Gerard knew for a fact that this person couldn’t see him from his seat at the cash register desk on the opposite side of the room. There were books piled up around the cash register, creating a little wall and obscuring him from customer view.

But Gerard could see _him_ just fine. He was thankful for the barrier that the books created. He liked how he could see the customers who entered the shop without them seeing him first, especially on his Friday shifts when he worked nights alone. Sure, it was just a comic book store, but Gerard was young, being only 23 years old. And he was also what you would call _extremely good looking._ Dark, inky black hair, hazel eyes, fair skin and soft pink lips. He had been susceptible to harassment in the past, so the barrier of piled up books gave him a boosted sense of security.

Gerard observed the man from his seat behind the cash desk, arms folded as he sized up the customer.

The first thing Gerard noticed about him was his demeanor. How he kept his head down, seemingly to avoid conversation or eye contact. His dark curls fell around his head, creating a curtain and obscuring his face from view as he x-rayed the floor with his eyes. He appeared to be deep in thought as he studied the ground. Gerard found it odd that the man chose to stare at the floor when he was surrounded by shelves full of graphic novels that had to be _much_ more interesting to look at. 

The second thing Gerard noticed were his hands. They shook gently, as if the man who had just entered the four walls of the comic shop was worried that he could get attacked at any given minute. Sure, it was odd, but somehow it was just so _captivating_. Gerard put down his book quietly as he let his eyes continue to roam up and down the man’s body, feeling himself growing more interested by the second. 

Gerard had to admit- This man had beautiful hands. He swallowed thickly as his eyes traced over the intricate shapes and letters inked into his tan skin. He had awesome tattoos. Although Gerard hated needles with a passion and could never get any himself, he always had a thing for other people’s body art, personal stories and meanings behind their ink. His ex-girlfriend had always told him it that came from his deep appreciation of art. Gerard couldn’t make out every tattoo scattered over his hands, but the ink across his fingers caught his attention right away.

_H-A-LL-O_ was scrawled across one hand in black and orange block letters. The H, A two Ls and an O were written in permeant ink, one letter per finger. As soon as the man turned around, Gerard’s eyes made a beeline for the other hand.

_W-E-_

Gerard squinted as he struggled to make out the letters inked across the man’s left hand. Leaning across the small cashier desk, he hastily cleared a space in the barrier of books to get a closer look, cringing as the desk cut into his stomach as he leaned forward further. He tilted his chair as far as it would go and proceeded to strain his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the rest of the letters

_W-E-E-N._

Hold up. _Ween?_ _Was he reading that right?_ Gerard thought to himself, an bemused smile playing at his lips. A second glance at the man’s left hand confirmed his suspicion, and this time Gerard couldn’t hold back the breathy giggle that escaped his lips.

That was a _big_ mistake.

The man suddenly whipped around as he heard the sound, visibly alarmed, eyes wide and lips slightly parted as he scanned the room for the source of the noise.

_Oh shit_ , Gerard thought. He had forgotten that the man couldn’t see him and probably wasn’t aware that there was someone _watching him from across the room._

Cheeks steadily heating up, Gerard hastily ducked his head down past the book barrier and quickly leaned back in his chair. 

Second big mistake.

In the futile attempt to get his chair back on the ground quietly, he leaned back way too fast and ended up falling backwards and landing in a heap on the ground.

“Shit!” He exclaimed loudly as he flailed around and landed flat on his ass. _This day was just getting better and better._ That was going to be sore _for sure._

_“M_ mmph shiiit, _”_ Gerard drew out in a whisper-groan as he massaged his lower back gingerly.

Forgetting all about about the man and his own futile attempt to be quiet, Gerard slowly hoisted himself off the ground, letting out soft whimpers of agony as he stood up. Fine. He was being dramatic. Sue him. It had been the l _ongest_ week. Gerard was tired as _hell_ and he just wanted to go home. 

Finally standing up, Gerard brushed off the front of his shirt that was now covered in dust, sighing as he looked back up. Thats’s when he met a pair of green eyes staring right back at him.

Gerard glanced down at the floor as one of his hands reached up to tug at his the strands of his inky black hair. It was a nervous habit that he picked up a few years ago. 

“H-Hi,” Gerard offered slowly as moved his eyes to size up the man standing before him. It was no secret that Gerard wasn't the most socially gifted person. Usually, he could deal with himself being awkward. But when the other person was too, that was just _too damn hard for him to handle_. He quickly shook the thought. Now that he was standing up, he realized that he could see more of the man's features. He had to admit- he was pretty good looking. He had dark brown curls, _oddly familiar_ green eyes and tan skin. His tattoos were even more intricate up close, and the sight of them was making Gerard itch for his sketchbook. He literally had to restrain himself from dropping his eyes down to the finger tattoos on the man’s left hand. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself again, or make someone _that he didn't even know_ feel bad. 

The man stared back up at Gerard with wide eyes. You’d think he had just been caught stealing something valuable, not paying for a book at a comic shop. He was visibly nervous as he clutched the comic book in his tattooed hands with a death grip.

“Um, are you gonna to buy that?” Gerard gestured to the comic book in the man’s hand.

Gerard noticed that right away, the man's features softened and a look of relief washed over his face.

“O-oh this? Um, y-yeah, just give me one second,” The man stuttered as he hastily reached into the pocket of his jeans and fished around for a couple dollars. 

Gerard continued to study his face. He looked young, around Gerard’s own age, maybe a little bit younger. _He has such a drawable face_ , Gerard thought to himself. He knew he was staring intently, but he felt like he couldn’t break his gaze away. Not only did this man have a drawable face, he seemed _so oddly familiar._ He felt like he recognized his eyes. And he had no idea why. Mayb-

“Uh, hello?”

Gerard was diverted from his thoughts as he realized the man had the money in his outstretched palm and was trying to pay.

“Oh right,” Gerard hurriedly said as he fumbled with the cash register. “Sorry about that,” he added as he gave an awkward grin.

A heavy silence loomed in the air as Gerard placed the comic book into one of the cheap plastic bags, adorned with the comic company logo in a cheesy comic sans font. He could feel the other man’s eyes on him, watching him intently as he rung up his purchase.

“Um, so, I’m sorry I came in so close to closing time, I just… I don’t know, I needed something to do.”

Gerard whipped his head up in surprise.

“Huh? Oh,” he responded as he felt his exasperation begin to dissipate.“It’s fine, I don’t really mind too much,” Gerard lied. Actually, if he was being honest, he didn’t really mind at the moment.

The shorter man gave Gerard a slightly lopsided grin and Gerard felt his face heat up as they made eye contact. 

“What’s your name?” Gerard asked. He was genuinely curious.

“Frank,” the man said in return.

_Frank_. That was a fitting name. He liked it. 

“Nice to meet you Frank. I’m Gerard.”

Frank giggled softly and looked down. “I know,” he responded.

_Wait, he knows? Does this mean that I really do know him from somewhere? Maybe that’s why he looks so familiar,_ Gerard thought.

“You do? Ho-”

Frank cut him off.

“Your name tag,” He grinned, his voice slightly teasing. 

Gerard felt his face go red for the third time that night as he glanced down. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Frank's grin widen further.

“Uh, shit, right,” he retorted, giving an embarrassed grin as he handed the bag over to Frank. “Have a great night,” Gerard said as cheerfully as he could muster. He was seriously exhausted.

“Thank you,” Frank responded graciously as he took his comic book bag from Gerard. “I’ll see you around,” He said, giving a small smile.

With that, Frank sauntered to the exits and pushed open the doors. Gerard couldn’t help the smile curling at his lip as he watched Frank zip up his jacket and walk into the cold air of the Los Angeles winter night.

***

Gerard thought about Frank for the rest of the night. Something about him just seemed so familiar. Like, _eerily familiar_. But Gerard shook off the thought, reasoning that he was just overly tired and needed to get to sleep. He smiled to himself as the memory of Frank’s finger tattoos played through his mind. _I hope I see him again_ , was Gerard’s last thought as he fell asleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :')  
> Please remember that this is a work of fiction and I do not own anything!  
> Stay tuned for updates! I will try to add chapters quickly!


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